it is definitely a shocker here in israel. of course, ehud barack has been part of public life here for decades. he was the prime minister and now for the past seven and a half years was the defense minister. a very prominent person. also, of course, a big military figure here in this country. he says for his part that it is, as you say, for personal reasons. he wants to spend more time with his family. especially his grandchildren. there are many people here in this country who believe that it is, indeed, for political reasons. he is currently really riding a high in public opinion polls after the military campaign that israel waged against hamas in gaza. of course, he was the head of that military campaign, being the defense minister. that really bolstered his ratings. on the other hand, though, it looked as though in the upcoming election that is are going to happen on january 22nd that he probably would not get back into israel's parliament because the faxz that he leads in parliament is simply so small and doing so badly